LeftHand Networks Replicates for Less

LeftHand Networks has unveiled an IP-based snapshot and replication application that starts at just $8,700.

Remote IP Copy is a combination snapshot and replication application that LeftHand says simplifies the process of creating and maintaining multiple copies of data across multiple locations while offering near real-time performance, potentially opening the door for more companies to implement off-site storage backup and disaster recovery infrastructures.

"LeftHand has done a nice job of providing high-end functionality in an affordable IP-based storage solution," says Dianne McAdam, senior analyst and partner at Data Mobility Group. "LeftHand's Remote IP Copy will make the storage element of a complete disaster recovery plan much more practical for a broad base of users."

Tom Major, LeftHand's VP of marketing, says Remote IP Copy does cheaply what high-end Fibre Channel solutions do for "hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars."

"The good news is all this is now available to mid-market customers," Major continues. "The simplicity of the solution will allow companies to implement disaster recovery with their existing staff without investing in the training required to come up to speed on Fibre Channel."

Kashya is another start-up pledging replication on the cheap. The storage firm earlier this month announced the release of its own data protection and replication appliance, the KBX4000.

Remote IP Copy replicates only incremental changes to reduce bandwidth and telecom costs, and has no distance limitations because of the IP protocol, Major says. It can be scheduled or ad hoc, supports cross-replication between sites, and can be managed from one location.

Remote IP Copy will be available Nov. 1 as an add-on application to LeftHand's SAN/ip Distributed Storage Matrix (DSM) SAN software.

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LeftHand claims more than 200 installations of its proprietary technology, which Major says is more than any other IP storage vendor (he places StoneFly second), but to keep up with the times, the company also announced that it is embracing the iSCSI IP storage standard.

"We are the pioneers in the IP market," boasts Major. "Our protocol is better than the iSCSI protocol, but iSCSI is the protocol, so we'll support it."

The company will begin iSCSI support early next year, beginning with the Microsoft iSCSI initiator.

LeftHand also announced it is adding Linux support in addition to support for Windows, and the company also unveiled a new 1.2 TB SAN hardware platform, the Network Storage Module (NSM) 200, which more than doubles the capacity of the NSM 100, with a higher density form factor and non-volatile RAM cache to improve performance and ensure data integrity. The NSM hardware modules are clustered together using LeftHand's SAN/ip DSM software.

Cluster capacity is unlimited, according to the company, and the addition of a hardware module does not require downtime. The NSM 200 is priced at $18,500 and will be available Nov. 1.